


Ready steady go

by BridgetMcKennitt



Series: Go Psy AU [2]
Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: Alternate Universe - Psychics/Psionics, Astral Projection, Established Relationship, M/M, Sparring, Telekinesis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 13:45:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6118260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BridgetMcKennitt/pseuds/BridgetMcKennitt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This wasn't an official match, but whenever he and Hikaru sparred, a large crowd formed to watch them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ready steady go

Akira entered the large gymnasium built in the back of the Go Psy Institute as he made his way to one side of the mat in the center of the room. There were already plenty of people sitting on the benches, milling around and talking. This wasn't an official match, but whenever he and Hikaru sparred, a large crowd formed to watch them.

Akira sat down, legs tucked under him, as he looked across the mat to where Hikaru was stretching. They'd been dating for three years, known each other for a lot longer, and every time they battled, Akira felt a rush of excitement and satisfaction. Hikaru's psychic ability was a sight to behold and Akira knew it as well as his own abilities.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The crowd probably thought he was meditating, but he wasn't. Akira released his transparent astral form to walk among the crowd. It was his form of relaxing before a match and it was all because of Hikaru that he started doing this.

"I love watching Touya and Shindou's matches. They're so amazing!"

"Whenever I watch them, I feel inspired to do better as a insei."

Akira smiled to himself. He didn't know their names, but he recognized them as insei. Someday, if they trained hard enough and made it through the pro exam, they would be pros. He continued walking unseen, listening to people's conversations. Hikaru once told him that it was good to get to know other people because that knowledge helped them grow as psychics. _"It's not just knowing the ability, Akira, it's also knowing the person. There's beauty in that diversity."_ Akira had a feeling it was something Sai once told Hikaru.

"Shindou has telekinesis, so he's going to win. I don't understand how he can lose with that ability!"

"But Touya has been using his psychic abilities since he was a child. He's the son of the Meijin. He usually wins the matches between them."

That was true. Akira never took abilities as a measure of an instantaneous win. Even the most benign of abilities could turn deadly in the hands of someone with a crafty mind. Akira liked to think he was a good strategist, so he pushed his two abilities as far as he could to win his matches.

He returned to his body and opened his eyes as bells chimed in the air. It was time for his match with Hikaru. Akira got to his feet and met Hikaru in the center of the mat. They bowed to each other before returning to their sides. Six balls of varied sizes were dropped in the center of the mat, three white and three black.

" _Onegaishimasu_."

" _Onegaishimasu_."

At once, Akira created an astral projection, one visible and tangible to stand right next to him. He sent a second one, transparent, behind Hikaru. Yes, Hikaru had telekinesis, but Akira wasn't powerless.

His second astral projection became visible just long enough to grip Hikaru's arms behind his back. His first astral projection ran for the balls and grabbed a black one. Akira's target wasn't the balls, but Hikaru himself. Except Hikaru wasn't going to let Akira do whatever he wished. Hikaru floated the three white balls in the air while knocking back Akira's second astral projection away from him.

Akira grinned as he created another astral projection while his first tossed a ball at Hikaru. It was meant as a distraction and it worked. As Hikaru focused on that, Akira managed to grab onto Hikaru's shirt.

A touch was all he needed as he used his psychometry to glean information off of Hikaru. It wasn't just past events that Akira could see with his ability, but he could also see glimpses of the future. The future was fluid and chaotic, akin to trying to stop the waves of the ocean, but Akira was able to receive what he needed from it.

The future of this match was chaotic and temporary. Anything could go wrong, but Akira loved the thrill of the chase, especially when his opponent was Hikaru.

A psychic match wasn't just a battle between two opponents duking it out with each other. There was an objective to it, after all, and it had to do with the six balls. Either one of them had to line up the balls in specific arrangements on the mat, like in a game of Go. There were hundreds of arrangements that one could play, but only if one's opponent allowed them to set the balls down.

Akira knew what arrangement he wanted to play and it required both sets of colors. To do what he wanted though, he had to get through Hikaru.

The match went on for over an hour as Akira both attacked and defended against Hikaru. Everyone else in the gymnasium faded away as Akira focused only on Hikaru. Finally, he placed his arrangement down with the balls and won. It was a near thing because Hikaru would fly the balls away as soon as Akira sent them down, but he did it.

They bowed to each other. When Akira met Hikaru's eyes, he noted passion and satisfaction lurking there. It wasn't an official match, but as sweat ran down his face, Akira felt like he had just fought one.

"That was a great game, Akira," Hikaru said. "I didn't think you'd be able to counter my telekinesis like you did."

"My astral projections are able to somewhat resist your telekinetic attacks so I was able to better position my balls." He glanced at the large crowd before taking Hikaru's hand. "Did you want to discuss our match now or somewhere in private?"

"In private sounds fine." Hikaru laughed as they left the gymnasium through a side door. "It's so funny that we always draw a crowd during our practice matches. It's not like we're in a title match."

"We're part of the new wave of Japan pro psychics. Everything we do will draw a crowd, especially when we're together." Akira remembered when the rest of the psychic world found out they were dating. Go Psy Weekly sold out of their issue in a few hours and they had to do a reprint because demand was so high. The issue had been filled with pictures of the two of them together, some that were of them playing their matches, but others were of them holding hands, and even one picture of them kissing though Akira wasn't sure how the magazine got that shot.

"I suppose so. It's not like I can look away when you use your psychic abilities." Hikaru smiled at him and Akira felt a flutter of happiness inside of him. "I plan on catching up to you, Akira. Just you wait."

"And I refuse to falter in my training."

"Good. We wouldn't be rivals if you slacked off." Hikaru stopped in the hall and turned towards Akira. "I want to play hundreds of thousands of matches with you. There's no one else for me, you know?"

"I know. I feel the same way." He felt like he'd been chasing after Hikaru for most of his life. Being a psychic pro was an empty existence if Hikaru wasn't there with him striving for the Divine Move. "I have an interview with Amano in about ten minutes. Want to come and crash it? I know Amano wouldn't mind if my interview became an interview with the two of us instead."

Hikaru grinned as he squeezed Akira's hand. "I'd love to. Then we can go over to Kurata's and practice for the Hokuto Cup. Has Yashiro arrived in Tokyo yet?"

"He should be here later this afternoon." With his other hand, Akira cupped Hikaru's cheek as he leaned in to kiss him. Playing against Hikaru, unleashing their psychic abilities in matches, was breathtaking, but Akira had found that kissing Hikaru was just as thrilling. Even though he had won today's practice match against Hikaru, he knew Hikaru was not far behind him.

Hikaru pulled back just far enough to press his forehead against Akira's. "Come on, let's go have our interview with Amano. He's going to get a kick out of our practice match's discussion. I promise not to shout."

Akira smiled as he shook his head. "I know better, so don't give me promises you can't keep." Akira didn't know if it was because he was a psychic or because he knew Hikaru that well, but he had a feeling that Hikaru was going to do something embarrassing during the interview. He was sure Amano would be delighted, Hikaru's antics sold issues, and Akira was feeling zen about it. He was well used to Hikaru by now.

As they headed towards Amano's office upstairs, Akira was already thinking about his next match with Hikaru. There was going to be plenty of opportunities tonight when they played Speed Psy with their friends.


End file.
